Dub Chill Out (1996)

“An 18-cut anthology of reggae dub music that, while certainly not perfectly balanced or comprehensive, does a good job in presenting some outstanding creations of several leading dub progenitors. Although leading dub lights King Tubby, King Jammy, Lee Perry, Sly & Robbie, and Scientist are on board, it might be called King Tubby and friends, as he has eight of the 18 selections, sharing billing on a couple with Augustus Pablo. Scientist, by contrast, only has one cut. More important than even distribution, however, is the quality of the individual tracks, which is pretty high, and very heavy on massive reverb, odd percussion, and special effects, as it should be. Listen to Lee Perry’s ‘Upsetting’ for particularly far-out percussion-echo dueling; King Jammy’s ‘Slow Motion’ has the kind of bass that shreds the speaker, with echo that fades away like snowflakes on a warm day. Sometimes there are vocals, sometimes not; vocals in this context, of course, are just another instrument or sound effect, not the tool for a singer’s expression, as they usually are. It would be nice to have some dates or source documentation for the songs; there’s not even a rough indication of the chronological span of the music on the disc. But it’s a good anthology, especially for listeners who want some, but not a ton, of dub on their shelves.”allmusic